It is known to use independent rigid water tanks to augment civil water reticulated systems. The independent tanks receive water from sources such as the roofs of houses and sheds.
Transport of rigid water tanks is inefficient due to the volume of free space that is transported with the tank. When demand for rigid tanks is high, the price of tanks increases and delivery time is lengthened.
There have been many attempts to provide fabric tanks as a cheap, ready and easy to transport alternative to the traditional rigid plastic, concrete or metal tanks.
One fabric tank has the shape of an inverted cone and is self-supporting. The geometry of the side wall provides stability to the tank. However, the height of the tank is limited due to the limited ability of the fabric to withstand the water pressure exerted.
Another fabric tank is an entirely sealed bladder, which has limited depth and limited storage capacity and the bladder is very unstable when only partly full and must be secured or contained to prevent movement.
A third example is a cylindrical fabric tank with a rigid frame supporting the brim, however the depth is limited and the frame is unstable.
A fourth example is a cylindrical tank made from rigid sheet or mesh that has a waterproof fabric or film liner within it. The sheets are generally large and unwieldy and are of heavy construction in order to withstand the hoop stresses.
The above-described examples of so-called fabric tanks have one or more deficiencies. There is a need for an improved apparatus for storing flowable product that can be used as, for example, a water storage tank.